Katsuta apologises to Toyota after Rally Finland crash

Takamoto Katsuta has apologised to his Toyota team after a difficult weekend at Rally Finland, where he finished sixth, far from his goal of challenging for victory.

Katsuta arrived in Jyvaskyla full of confidence after claiming his first two WRC wins of the season in Kenya and Croatia. However, the event he had been looking forward to turned into a nightmare.

Problems started early as he struggled with the car's set-up. His hopes of a top result were further damaged when his windscreen fogged up in heavy rain, costing him over two minutes.

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He fought back to fifth place but lost it on the final stage after running wide and hitting a tree head-on. Fortunately, he managed to limp the car to the finish of the Power Stage.

"I saw a rock sticking out quite a lot on the inside of the corner and tried to avoid it a bit. Then I lost the line, and off the line there was a lot of loose gravel. So I completely lost the rear," Katsuta explained.

"I was not able to turn, so the car went straight off and hit the tree. It could have been much worse. Thankfully, we only got damage to the front because it could have easily taken the wheel off," he added.

He felt sorry for the team. "I feel so sorry for the team. I wanted to make it a good weekend in the end, but unfortunately it didn't work," he said.

Despite his disappointment, Toyota still had reasons to celebrate as Sami Pajari took a home victory, with Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans completing a one-two-three finish for the Japanese manufacturer.

Katsuta scored only eight points from the event, but he remains in the title fight, sitting third in the standings, 41 points behind Evans.